The Last of the Haddocks
by badskippy
Summary: Tintin finally asks about the Last of the Haddocks


**_THE LAST OF THE HADDOCKS_**

* * *

Some nights, when all was quiet; Nestor the butler having been relieved early; Dr Calculus off in his lab working to the wee hours and no visitors placing demands on their time; Captain Archibald Haddock and Tintin would sit by the fire in the library in their cozy cocoon of peace and tranquility.

Haddock would be found in his favorite chair; an old leather book in his lap, his pipe in his mouth, a cut crystal glass with a small shot of Loch Lomond Whiskey, or Dark Jamaican Rum, to sip from; the perfect picture of a retired merchant marine.

Tintin would be on the floor, crossed legged, surrounded by papers and a few books, taking notes for whatever story he was working on. More often than not, he would be within arms reach of the good Captain; Tintin didn't need to be clingy, but he didn't want to be too far away either; just enough. Tintin knew Haddock felt the same way.

This particular night was no different. Haddock was reading a large tome entitled, _Tied and True; Sailor Knots for Every Occasion, _while Tintin sat on the floor, resting back against Haddock's legs; proof reading his latest editorial for the Brussels Newspaper, _Le Soir._

Finished with the proof read, Tintin put both arms over his head and stretched his back; it felt good. As he relaxed, his eyes fell upon the framed painting above the fireplace of Sir Francis Haddock; Haddock's illustrious ancestor.

The portrait had been found behind the secret wall in the cellar along with much of the possessions of the Haddock family there were of any importance. On the mantel, below the Portrait, were two of the three model ships of _The Unicorn_; one Tintin bought in the marketplace – the mast now repaired, and the second was left by Sakharine. The two were now were displayed stern to stern under Sir Francis. (The last model was still with it's current owner, Omar Ben Salaad, in Begghar.)

For not the first time, Tintin wondered about Sir Francis and his own lovable Archie. (Tintin saved Archibald for when he wanted to make a point.)

Turning around, he laid his arms across Haddock's knees, rested his chin on his forearms and stared up at Haddock's face with much affection and devotion. He loved this man on so many, near countless, levels and as he stared, he thought he could see Sir Francis sitting there; a man of honor and courage. He knew his Archie was anyway.

It was only a few minutes before Haddock, still reading, realized he was being scrutinized by a pair of doe-soft, green eyes. Still looking down at his book, he raised just his eyes to meet Tintin's.

"What are you staring at laddie?" Haddock asked with a narrowed look.

"Well … you obviously." Tintin replied; a Mona Lisa smile on his lips.

Haddock cocked an eyebrow at the boy's barely veiled sarcastic response. "Well, that's me put in my place then." Tintin gave him a toothy grin and Haddock smiled and shook his head saying, "Sarcastic, snotty nosed, sea gherkin." To anyone else, it might have been an insult, but to Tintin it just meant Haddock was amused.

But Tintin was suddenly moved to ask all those questions that he had always wanted, but just hadn't. Sitting up straight, he began.

"To be honest Archie, I have always wanted to ask about Sir Francis; the Haddock family lines and you." Tintin was building up steam. "I mean, how is it that Sir Francis was a loyal Captain of King Charles II of England, but built the family seat is in a small port town near Oostende, Belgium, and yet you grew up in _Scotland_? Also, there were three sons of Sir Francis; so what of the other two if you are the last of the remaining son's line? And why did Sir Francis, who believed himself cursed; hide the small amount of Rackham's treasure in the statue of St John the evangelist, instead of giving it to his sons?"

Putting his book down; Haddock sat back, crossed his right arm across his chest and brought is left hand up to absentmindedly stroke his bearded chin. He had a far off look of contemplation and it brought a marvelous quality to Haddock's face; Tintin was reminded once again why he loved this man so much.

If there is one thing sailors are know for, it's spinning a good tale; and Captain Archibald Haddock was no exception. Tintin could almost hear the crashing waves in Haddock's voice and see stormy ocean in his dark brown eyes whenever he talked of his time at sea.

Tintin leaned forward and once again, lay his arms and chin upon Haddock's knees. He held his breath; waiting for the good Captain to begin his tale. He didn't have to wait long.

With a deep breath, Haddock began.

* * *

"Now, to understand about Sir Francis, one has to go back to Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots. Scotland and England shared an uneasy border; and believe me laddie, it was not a good time to be a foot solider! Spies and assassins were everywhere. But, if there was one thing that Queen Mary could count on, it was the loyalty of the Haddocks! We were not nobility mind you, but we were honest sailors and defenders of our homeland.

"So you can imagine that when Queen Elizabeth I of England beheaded Queen Mary, we Haddocks swore to an undying allegiance to the remaining Stuart king; James VI. We swore that we would NEVER give in to England!

"As fate would have it, when Old Queen Elizabeth died, James VI was invited to become James I of England because he was her closest living relative; her being a virgin and all." Archie said this last bit with a look of disbelief on his face. "The Haddocks found themselves part of the English Fleet after all. But the Haddocks were devoted to their King; it didn't matter to them. Loyalty above all else!"

(_Ah, yes._ Tintin thought, _That explains his devotion and loyalty to me. Who could not love a man like this; I would be a fool not to_.)

"So, when poor King Charles I; that was King James' son mind you; was murdered by that wart-faced dog; that waste of flesh, Oliver Cromwell, the Haddocks remained loyal to the crown; even in exile. King Charles II went Belgium to wait out the protectorate. It was there, in the Low Countries near Brussels, that Sir Francis met and married his wife.

"Anyway, after the Restoration of the monarchy, King Charles II remembered the loyalty of his faithful commander, and made Captain Francis Haddock, SIR Francis Haddock!

"Now, it was clear that Cromwell and his pilfering parasites had left the crown with nar a penny to its name! Sir Francis, as a way to show his gratitude and continued loyalty, promised King Charles to hunt down any pirates and take back what was rightfully the crown's! Needless to say, Sir Francis was quite successful and soon the coffers were filling up with retaken gold and plunder. But he hadn't counted on the anger and revenge of Red Rackham!

"Of course, you know that tale so no need to whip a dead horse.

"After Sir Francis was rescued and taken back to England, he was none too popular. Although he had done much for the crown and state; the loss of the Unicorn was devastating. It goes without saying that the Admiralty wanted to court-martial him and placed all blame for the loss on his shoulders. You see, without a shred of evidence, who was to say what happened; they only had Sir Francis' word. But as reports came in that Red Rackham had disappeared without a trace; some believed Sir Francis. However, not enough. It finally took King Charles II to issue a pardon and declare the matter settled before Sir Francis was set free.

"So how do the Sakharines and the Rackhams come in to play with the story?" Tintin asked.

"Ah," Haddock said, giving a pointed look at Tintin, "that's a good one! You see, the Earl of Rackham was Red Rackham's father. The family denied any connection and since Red Rackham never showed his face who could proved anything, but they were getting rich off his loot the entire time. They claimed to be loyal to the crown and that their ancestors had gone off to with King Richard to the crusades. When Sir Francis came back, he said that he had unmasked Red Rackham and accused the Earl.

"As it happened, the admiral in charge was Admiral Sakharine who wanted to married the Earl's daughter, Margaret, who was Red Rackham's sister. He wanted to get his hands on all that Rackham money. He promised to make sure that Sir Francis paid the price and didn't get another ship and he was also the one behind the reports denying the connection at the hearings.

"In the end, nothing could be proved as I said, the Rackham's got away scott free and Admiral Sakharine married into the family. He got the money in the end and it was through his line that Rackham's family continued and why the Sakharine's never forgave the Haddocks."

"Amazing!" Tintin was mesmerized.

"That was one of the things that Granddaddy told me on his deathbed; the Rackham and Sakharine connection." Haddock said.

"Anyway, go on with the story!" Tintin demanded, as Haddock cleared his through and continued.

"Life would not be the same for Sir Francis, as he was denied another command; discharged from the Navy and eventually, even King Charles II turned his back on him to keep in good public standing. No, Sir Francis truly believed that Red Rackham's curse on his name and that of his family was true. He returned to the Low Countries; never to return to the British Isles.

"He built and settled here, at Le chateau de Moulinsart, with his wife and his three sons; Francis, the eldest, William and wee Charles; my own dear ancestor. Always with the hope that one of them would restore the family name.

"However, as they grew; rather than unite and restore the family honor, the three sons drifted further apart. Each had their own ambitions.

"They say that in the end, when he died, Sir Francis was a broken man. He longed for his family to come together; to be great as it once was. That is why he built the models and hide the bit of Red Rackham's Treasure; he figured that if his sons worked together; than all would be righted.

"But as you well know; it was never to be.

"Sir Francis died and his eldest and namesake, Francis, claimed the chateau. This, of course, didn't sit well in the stomachs of William and Charles; though, as the eldest, it was to go to him. But more than that, Francis had the audacity to change his name from Haddock to Francois de _Hadoque_. The name change also meant the forfeit of the peerage, so the Haddocks lost the title. William and Charles were appalled and the break between the brothers was complete.

"William, always feeling passed over, set sail for America and never returned.

"Charles, on the other hand, decided that it would be best for him to return to the ancestral land and settled back in Scotland.

"All three brothers apparently wished for the other two to die out and then there would be less Haddocks to compete with; They almost all got their wish.

"William's descendants were the first to go. Williams's son, Alistair, was lost at sea during a fierce storm in 1707, off the coast of Massachusetts. William had no other sons and Alistair was unmarried.

"Now Francois, had two sons, Francois-Pierre and Henri-Claude. Like their uncles and father, they were often at each other's throat. This line was proud and foolish and Francois-Pierre had only one son, Philippe. Philippe was a greedy toad of a man and never married. Family rumor says that he never wanted to share the house or wealth with anyone.

"After Philippe died the estate passed to Henri's line and continued on until his last living descendant, Jean-Tomas, was killed during the Belgium revolution.

"Of course, all this time, Charles' line had continued on in Scotland.

"My family returned to the sea and proud we were of it. If we couldn't have the respect that Sir Francis deserved, we were damn sure going to make the old man proud. We had little contact with the Hadoque Family Line since wee Charles had broke with his brothers.

"The one thing each line had to remind of us of your once great name, were the models pasted down to each generation. At least for a time that is. Francois' model stayed here at the house. That was the one that you bought in the market."

"Really?!" Tintin said, looking amazed. "I would have thought it was from Charles' line, since your family inherited the house!"

"No laddie." Haddock answered, shaking his head. "That model was sold for money as my family struggled to make a living.

"According to Nestor, when Sakharine bought the estate, Francois' model was gone and he was overheard to say that he had purchased his model from an antique dealer in the States. So I am guessing that his model was William's.

"So that means," Tintin interrupted, "that Charles' model somehow ended up with Ben Salaad! I wonder how he came to possess it?!"

"From what I gathered in Begghar, Ben Salaad was given that model as a gift from the ambassador of England to Egypt. Apparently, as the British were taking over more and more of the country, the ambassador wanted Ben Salaad on the British side and presented him with the model. Now, how the ambassador got it, who knows for sure. But I am guessing that he must have bought it in London, because I doubt he would have gotten it in Scotland." Haddock said.

Tintin's imagination jumped into overdrive at the thought of what happened to that model and how it ended up so far from Scotland. But he stopped himself; he wanted to hear more.

"I'm sorry Archie!" Tintin said, look at Haddock. "Please go on."

"Now, as I said, poor Jean-Tomas was killed and while my great-granddaddy, just a young man at the time, was more than entitled to take over the house; he had no intention of throwing Jean-Tomas's wife, Marie, into the streets. She stayed until her dying day; too proud to even be grateful to my great-granddaddy, let alone thank him.

"Wait!" Tintin couldn't help himself. "You said your _grandfather_ inherited the house!"

"No I didn't!" Haddock replied forcibly. "I told you Granddaddy lost the house; I never said how he got it in the first place. Do you want me to finish or not?!"

"Yes! Yes of course. Sorry." Tintin willed himself quiet.

"Alright then; keep your breeches on and let me finish!

"So, finally, in 1862, when Marie died, my great-granddaddy took possession. Now, according to Granddaddy, the house was in a poor state by this time as there was little money left. Like all the Hadoque's before him, Jean-Tomas and his wife preferred to live a high-life rather than spend money on the house or estate.

"Great-granddaddy used what little there was to bring the house back to a descent state but it was still a struggle. My _Granddaddy_, continued in the merchant marines to make sure money continued to flow to the Estate. Which, by this time, had become known as Marlinspike to us. Great-granddaddy died in 1879 and the estate pasted to my granddaddy.

"Now, my father had gone into the Royal Navy and there was hope that with the expansion of the Empire, there was a chance that the family curse would finally be lifted and the Haddocks would once again be a great name!

"Sadly, that hope died with my father; he was killed just before the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. I was only 5 at the time and my mother, God rest her soul, was never the same.

"She and I went to see granddaddy at Marlinspike, and those were some of the happiest months of my life! But they too didn't last long. Granddaddy tried to help us but with my father gone, money at the estate dried up quickly. Mother and I were forced to return to Scotland and attempt to make a go of it alone.

"It was when I was 15, that a letter came from Granddaddy. He was desperate to see me. There wasn't enough for us both to go, so my mother stayed in Scotland and I traveled to Belgium alone.

"That was when I found out that he had lost the estate. Everything had been purchased by The Bird Brothers; the festering, feather brained, fancy-dressed freebooters! They sold every last antique in the place; that's when Francois' model got sold, I imagine.

When they were done, stripping the place bare, they gave up the place. That's where Sakharine enters the picture.

According to Nestor, there wasn't much left of value by then. Well, not counting what granddaddy was able to save; walled up in the cellar.

"But I'm getting off track, eh?

"So, I find granddaddy dying in some miserable excuse of a flat. I cannae tell you how it broke my heart to see him brought so low! But he said he had to tell me something; it was a matter of life and death!

"That's when I heard the tale of _The Unicorn_. And as I told you, when it was over, Granddaddy breathed his last! I was so broken up; I drank myself stupid that night and in the morning, I left on the first ship back to Scotland; only to find that my poor mother had become sick with pneumonia. She barely lasted a week before she died.

"Suddenly I was completely alone; truly the _Last of the Haddocks_! I wanted to get as far away from everything.

"I'd made plenty of friends over the years. Captain Chester was one of them, he was like a father to me and when I told him my tale, I joined his crew and left Scotland for good. I stayed at sea and tried to forget my sorrows.

"For over 20 years I thought I could run away from it all. But as they say; you can run, but you can never hide."

Tintin was amazed, "But now look at you! Master of Marlinspike Hall; le chateau de Moulinsart restored; your family enemy vanquished; Sir Francis not only vindicated but his treasure found! And, _AND_, the curse is lifted!"

Archibald Haddock started down at Tintin. Thoughts reeled in his mind but only one worth expressing.

"Aye, it's true." He started. "The curse is lifted. But I wasn't thinking of the curse of the Haddocks. That's nothing more than old sailors fish-tales if you ask me."

"No, laddie," Haddock said quietly, cupping Tintin's face with his hand and gently rubbing his thumb on Tintin's cheek, "the only curse I know of is my own doing. And that curse lifted when I met you."

Tintin was touched and he just stared up at Archie with as much affection and love as he could conjure; he hoped Archie could see it and he must have because Haddock leaned forward; cupped each side of Tintin's face and kissed him sweetly on each cheek. Tintin reached up and place each of hands over Archie's to keep him close and kissed Haddock full on the lips. Bliss.

It was late and Tintin could feel it.

"I think it's time for bed." Tintin said. He stood; stretched and remained next to Haddock's chair; waiting for him.

Archie followed suit and mirrored Tintin's stretch. Turning his head, he stared up at Sir Francis' portrait; a pensive look on his face.

After several long minutes; Tintin grew concerned and placed a hand on Haddock's arm.

"Are you alright, Archie?" Tintin asked.

Haddocks didn't respond right away; he only continued to look at the portrait as if searching for something. He finally turned and gazed at Tintin with a small smile on his face.

"I am fine." Haddock replied. "The Last of the Haddocks; sounds overly melodramatic doesn't it?" But Tintin could tell, as no one else could, that Archie was searching for something else; and he knew his Archie well enough to know what he needed.

"In my opinion, they saved the best for last." Tintin answered assuredly; he leaned in closer; wrapped his arms around Archie's waist and laid his head on Haddock's chest.

"A man is only as good as the company he keeps." Haddock whispered, wrapping his arms around Tintin and cupped the back of Tintin's head; holding him in a sheltering embrace.

Neither said anything further and their love making that night was gentle and warm.

As far as Tintin was concerned; the tale only confirmed what he already knew; Archibald Haddock may be the last of the Haddocks, but as long as Tintin lived, his Archie would never walk this world alone.


End file.
